As Interim Director of Athletics and Recreation Peter Roby ’79 prepares to complete his tenure, a national search has begun for Dartmouth’s next athletics director, President Philip J. Hanlon ’77 announced this week. Roby took on the interim position last year with the understanding that he would serve through June 2022.

“I want to express my profound gratitude to Peter Roby, who brought stability and leadership to the athletics department at a critical time,” President Hanlon says. “Because of his dedication to his alma mater, we are well-positioned to find Dartmouth’s next visionary leader of athletics and recreation.”

The athletics director is responsible for leading Dartmouth’s 35 Division I varsity teams and oversees the club sports, physical education, recreation, fitness, and intramural programs. The position also manages Dartmouth’s athletics staff and facilities and maintains the department’s compliance with all athletics rules and regulations.

The search committee, chaired by Associate Dean for the Social Sciences John Carey, will be assisted by Daniel Parker and DeLaina Jordan of the search firm Parker Executive Search, which recently conducted successful searches for the athletic directors at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Brown. The committee hopes to have a new athletics director in place by July 1.

“We are casting a wide net for the right leader—someone who understands the storied role of athletics within the context of Dartmouth’s liberal arts model and who has what it takes to bring out the best in our student-athletes,” says Carey.

Of his experience as interim athletics director, Roby—who co-captained Dartmouth basketball as an undergraduate and most recently had led athletics at Northeastern before his retirement in 2017—says, “It has been my privilege to serve Dartmouth over the past year.”

“I want to thank the athletes, coaches, and staff members who have brought their heart to every game. I would also like to thank our campus colleagues and alumni for their support and passion,” Roby says. “I may be passing the torch, but I will always be your biggest fan.”

In addition to Carey, members of the committee are:

• Jeffrey Blackburn ’91, trustee
• Leslie Butler, associate professor of history
• Porscha Dobson, the Marjorie and Herbert Chase ’30 Director of Dartmouth Track and Field and Cross Country 
• Dino Koff, director of financial aid
• Sara Lockwood ’22, women’s club volleyball
• Tracy Hagan Mallory ’92, chair of the Dartmouth Athletic Advisory Board
• Anjali Pant ’24, women’s rugby
• Taurus Samuels ’22, men’s basketball
• Buddy Teevens ’79, the Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach
• and Doug Van Citters ’99, Thayer ’03, ’06, associate professor of engineering, athletics faculty advisor, and Dartmouth faculty athletics representative to the NCAA.